Mugon
by Tsurai Shi
Summary: This was the third time the blond little boy had tried to leave the world behind. Sandaime just didn't know what to do. Perhaps it was time to meet someone like himself. Eventual GaaNaruGaa.
1. Jump

Deadened blue eyes gazed over the edge of the high roof, the five year old's face screwed up in thought. This boy wasn't as dull as everyone thought him. No, he was most likely brighter than someone three times his age, he just didn't bother to show it.

Today was his birthday. It was also the day he'd survived his eight assassination attempt. You wouldn't be able to tell by his body though, all the wounds had already healed up by some mysterious power he possessed. The man who'd tried to kill him had been dragged away by ANBU forces, and reprimanded by the Hokage. Naruto had just been ushered away while being assured everything would be alright. He snorted. Nothing was ever right.

Today was a special day for Naruto. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't figure out why he was despised by 99.9 percent of Konoha. Sometimes the answer seemed to be within his grasp, but every time he reached for it, it slipped away like a leaf on the wind. The little boy couldn't take it any more.

A ghostly smile crept at the corners of his mouth.

Today was a special day, because it would be the third time he tried to kill himself. Maybe this time he would succeed.

He jumped.

¤

Beyond the agonizing pain, he caught a glimpse of glowing red eyes and heard a low growl.

What he didn't see was the glistening of tears or the whimper that followed.

¤

The next thing he saw was white, before the scents of bleach and disinfectant invaded his sensitive nose. He moaned. Once again he'd failed. He sat up, knowing he would be able to do so without pain. Off to his side sat the Sandaime, who gazed at him with solemn eyes. "Naruto, why do you keep doing this?" he asked sadly. Naruto didn't answer, just stared at him with an unreadable gaze.

Sarutobi sighed, watching the broken boy in the hospital bed. He was not living up to his promise to the Yondaime well. His promise to take care of his son. He could see the young one had already tumbled far over the edge of what anyone should be able to take, and Sarutobi only had one small hope of bringing him back.

"Naruto…there is someone I want you to meet." he could tell the boy was only half listening. "He's visiting for the next two weeks from Sunagakure. He's also…a lot like you." Now he'd grabbed the other's attention. Naruto's head whipped toward him, studying him with curious eyes. "He's hated by his entire village for something he can't control, just like you." Sarutobi continued. "I think you would like meeting him."

He waited while the blond absorbed this new information.

"Ok." the other said slowly. "I'll meet him." He took the Sandaime's offered hand and slipped out of the bed. Amazingly he showed no sign of the numerous fractures and internal bleeding he'd had when an ANBU had found him two days ago.

He followed the Hokage out of the room.

¤

Gaara clutched as his teddy bear nervously. He didn't know why he was here. He'd overheard his father talking to a ninja. All he'd been able to make out was "…seal scroll…Youma…and Sandaime". Now after a week's trip he was suddenly in a foreign village with his father and uncle Yashamaru, and with no clue what was going on.

It didn't help that he had a dark voice in the back of his mind. It was whispering continually to kill everyone and escape. He shook his head. He knew his father would punish him if he tried to kill anyone, especially in the presence of the old red-robed man. He'd never seen his father act so respectful of anyone before. Gaara assumed he must be powerful.

'Kill…kill….KILL!' the voice rang through his mind again. Gaara held his bear tighter. He couldn't give in. He glanced at his father sitting solemnly beside him. The blue Kazekage robes he wore mad him look imposing. He fought off a sudden spike of fear that shot through him when the man looked at him.

Suddenly the door to the office opened, and the red-robed man Gaara recognized from two days earlier stepped through. "Ah, Kazekage-sama," the man said, "you're here already! I apologize for being late, I had to pick up Naruto from the hospital."

"It's fine Sarutobi-sama." his father said. "You brought the boy then?" Gaara looked up curiously. He'd never heard him sound so eager before. "Hai." Sarutobi turned to the door. "Naruto, you can come in now."

Suddenly a short figure appeared in the doorway. All Gaara could make out was his scarred tan cheeks, his eyes were hidden by a fringe of blond hair. Sarutobi made introductions. "Naruto, this is Kazekage-sama of Sunagakure." The blond bowed stiffly to his father. Then the old man turned to him. "And this is the boy I was telling you about, Sabaku no Gaara."

The voice of his monster was chanting now. 'Kill them, kill them, KILL TH-' suddenly it fell silent as azure eyes met his own, and _it's_ fear threatened to flood through him. Then _it's_ presence was gone almost entirely. His eyes widened.

¤

Naruto didn't know what to expect of this new person. He'd thought all his feelings had gone numb a long time ago. Confronted with this new situation, he was confused. There was someone out there like him, who was hated by everyone. Under his layers this brought him a small sense of happiness, that he had found someone he could commune with, but there was also sadness, that anyone should have to suffer such as he had.

When he walked into Sandaime's office his eyes were immediately drawn to the red-haired boy in the corner. He barely hear the Hokage make introductions as he paused.

When cerulean met jade he felt a rush of connection, a sudden overwhelming force that screamed _I KNOW YOU_ into his mind. It was like taking a fresh breath after nearly drowning, like a new reason to live.

He smiled ever so slightly, and could see the other doing the same.

¤

Inside his mind Sarutobi was waiting anxiously. They had no idea how the jinchuuriki would react to each other, as no two had ever met before. Sarutobi just hoped this was good choice to make, introducing Naruto to Gaara. From what the Kazekage had told him, Gaara was on the brink of losing his mind to Shukaku the Sand Tanuki and becoming homicidal. He wasn't totally sure what his motives of bringing Gaara here were, but Sarutobi was sure they weren't entirely good hearted. As for Naruto…he hoped that meeting Gaara would give him some perspective. Maybe he would even make a friend in him, and that would prevent him from doing what he'd tried two days ago…

The Sandaime was not prepared for both boys to suddenly smile. Naruto moved from where he'd been standing and over to Gaara. Sarutobi bit back a chuckle when he noticed that Naruto was shorted than even the small Gaara. The blond had always been touchy on that subject.

Naruto stuck out a hand. "Watashi wa Uzumaki Naruto desu. Hajime mashite." he said quietly. The green eyed boy looked at his hand before shifting his grip on the teddy bear and hesitantly taking it in his own. "S-Sabaku no Gaara."

Sarutobi and the Kazekage were to caught up in the sudden change in the moods of both boys to notice the slight jolt they gave when their hands touched and a connection was forged.

¤

Naruto could barely contain his shock at the sudden rush through his mind as their thoughts linked. He could feel a sudden presence that hadn't been there before.

'I know you.' he thought.

'I know you, too.' came the answer.

"Naruto, why don't you show Gaara around Konoha? He needs to see al the best places." Sarutobi said. Naruto turned to him with a smile. Small, but genuine. "Sure ojii-san!" he said, and rushed out of the room, a confused Gaara in tow.

¤

A/n: Yes, I'm starting another one, because my mind won't focus DAMMIT! It's obviously going to be a GaaNaru or NaruGaa, whichever I decide. I'm still continuing **Invictus** and **Yuruginai Shinrai**, I'm just having trouble with the next chapters.

Mugon- silent, mute, speechless. A HUGE foreshadowing here!

Also, I need the readers to vote, though I won't tell you why yet.

Fire or Wind?

Please review!


	2. Jolt, First Connection

Gaara didn't know what to think at the moment.

It was beyond his childish to mind to understand what was happening to him; him and this other boy, Naruto. He couldn't understand that that single moment of contact would change the course of their lives forever. He didn't know that all demons had a deep, intimate connection with their own species, no matter how the individuals might fear and hate each other.

For demons, touch was a binding, cherished act. It connected souls and minds together. It didn't matter whether the touch was meant to kill or not.

Over the course of the day, Naruto hadn't let go of his hand even once. Gaara didn't mind. He was an anchor for the taller boy.

He paused. It started with presence in his head, one he wasn't used to. Nothing demonic bled into his mind from the spirit. Somehow he knew it was the blond boy in front of him, pulling him along. The boy had stopped too.

Pictures and sounds came slowly in, appearing in his psyche's eye. There came smells and feeling he'd never known before.

_Wanting to die, just to stop their hate. Trying again and again to leave…pain. _

Gaara once wondered what pain felt like. But Naruto…he knew too much of it.

Wide jade eyes turned to the other boy. Vast cerulean met his own with an un-judging gaze.

Naruto had seen too, Gaara's life.

_How he despised his father, no, feared him. How he hated the villagers for looking at him like they did. He was terrified that Mother would eat his mind someday…_

Naruto knew about the demon that lived inside of him, yet he was not afraid. Gaara knew that he understood what it felt like, to be a jinchuuriki.

Gaara could feel it, that evil fox that lived inside of the blond.

'Kyuubi…' Shukaku whispered in terror.

Naruto heard, and blue eyes widened in comprehension.

"Kyuubi!" he said aloud.

¤

A/n: Just thought I should give you all something! When checking for the status of my stories, please look at my profile. I always post there to let people know whether I'll be continuing or not.

Please review!


	3. Promise, Second Connection

Two weeks had passed since the startling revelation, and scarcely a moment could Naruto or Gaara be seen without the other. Naruto showed Gaara all the best hiding spots in the village, and they spent many hours playing hide-and-go-seek among the buildings. In the times when Naruto finally had succumb to the lure of sleep, Gaara was always in the room with him.

The red head marveled at how such a simple thing as being near the other could make him feel tremendously calmer. He supposed it was because of how scared Shukaku was of the nine-tailed demon fox.

Naruto hadn't been frightened when he learned of the demon inside him. He'd said that it all made sense. He now knew why the villagers hated him.

Gaara sat up on his cushion, turning his eyes from the moon outside to the blond sleeping on the tattered cot nearby.

His eyes traced over whiskered cheeks to the slight smile he could see on the other boy's lips, even in sleep.

Gaara brought his legs up and rested his chin on his knees. He echoed Naruto's smile.

His first friend.

¤

They were in a bright sunny field today and Gaara was picking flowers. He had a strange fascination for flowers, as he'd never seen any in Suna. The land there was too hot and dry to support the beautiful plants.

Naruto lay in the grass nearby, partially propped up by his elbows so that he could watch Gaara. The other had entrusted him with his teddy bear, which now lay snugly by his side.

He held up a daisy to the sunlight, studying it's white petals closely. It was beautiful, but all too soon it would die because he'd picked it, snapping the stem from its roots and cutting off its source of life. It was saddening to think of.

"Why did you try to die?" the words came out of his mouth before he could stop it. Naruto met his gaze with wide, surprised eyes, then he settled into thought.

"I wanted…to be gone, I guess," he said slowly. When Gaara looked for explanation, he elaborated. "Everyone in this village," he motioned generally, "hates me and wants me dead except for the Hokage. But ojii-san can't always be with me, and I started to feel like a burden to him. I didn't have friends to be with, and I thought it would be better for him if I was…gone." Naruto looked to the ground as he spoke the last.

Gaara moved over to where Naruto sat, crouching down by him. He wasn't sure if he understood completely, about dying. He knew what loneliness could do tot hose who spent all their life shunned and treated as a burden. Even Uncle Yashamaru couldn't be trusted completely, despite how kind he was to him.

"Now that you know why, that's it's all because of the fox demon…do you still want to go?" Gaara didn't look at him, staring instead at the twirling flower in his hand. He didn't want his friend to die, leaving him all alone again. Suddenly Naruto gripped his hand, touching him again. They always touched. It was something neither one had experienced more than a few fleeting times.

"No," Naruto grinned, his cheeks stretching in a way they were unused to, "I don't want to go anymore. I'll stay here…with you."

"Promise?" Gaara looked up, his chest feeling light with hope.

Naruto's hand fluttered for a moment, unsure of himself. Then he leaned in just as he'd once seen a mother do to her child and kissed Gaara's forehead lightly, right where the Ai tattoo would soon adorn it.

"Promise."

Shukaku remained silent.

¤

Gaara was leaving soon, though why Naruto didn't know. At the moment he was in the meeting room with the Kazekage and Hokage. Ojii-san had told Naruto to stay outside, no matter how much he protested. They hadn't counted on Naruto being able to hear through the door, and he was unaware that the door had been warded against spies , though he was somehow able to listen in. It was simply another mystery.

Naruto heard Gaara being told that it was nearly time to go, that they were leaving in two days. Naruto could tell from the Kazekage's voice that there was no arguing with him.

Naruto sprinted from the door, searching.

¤

"Here, it's a gift," Naruto said, pushing something warm and hard into his tiny hand. Gaara stared at it through a gaze blurred with tears. It was a tiny corked vial, tied to a string. Inside was an even tinier blown glass lotus flower. It glittered a bright white in the sun. Gaara knew immediately it had to be stolen. There was no way any shop would sell their resident demon something so beautiful.

"I tried to look for a daisy, but there weren't any," Naruto said, explaining the lotus.

"T-thank you." It was all that could be said. "I don't want to go…"

"Stay strong, and don't forget me, promise?" his eyes were too old, too sad for Gaara to comprehend. He nodded slowly.

"I…promise."

Gaara looked up, hearing his name called by his…father. He looked back at Naruto almost desperately, but the other only shook his head and reached over to hug him, grubby teddy bear and all.

The two boys wouldn't see each other for six years.

As Gaara was carried farther and farther away from Konoha, he began to hear the whispers of evil once again.

He shut his eyes tight.

'_Stay strong, and don't forget me.'_

'I won't, promise.'

¤

A/n: I've been very busy with my other fic, **Un Coeur Gris**, but I decided to take some time off to add to this. It probably won't be updated again until I finish UCG. I can't wait to write the next chapter! That's when all the fun stuff happens...

I know my writing style is a little vague and detached right now, but it's supposed to be. It'll get more in-depth in a couple of chapters.

Please review if you like it! I love feedback.


	4. Torture and Tears

**Warning** for gore, heavy torture, and general ickiness in this chapter. If you don't like it, please skip over.

* * *

Not three weeks after Gaara left, the inevitable happened. 

Naruto was used to being chased down. Drunken villagers often came after him in fits of rage or because of mob mentality. No matter what the Sandaime tried to do for him, they hated him. They would despise Naruto forever, entrenched as they were in their hard-headed beliefs that he was a monster.

They'd even gone as far as hiring ninja, both local and foreign, to do their dirty work.

…To kill him.

Naruto was used to avoiding the glares of others, to not catch the attention of anyone passing by, whether shinobi or civilian. If he kept his head down in the background, there was less chance of him being singled out. He could be satisfied with a life in the shadows, his only companion being empty air with absence of Gaara.

While in the background, he'd taken the opportunity to observe the shinobi, including the higher powers like the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans. He could tell that many were elite from the way they moved and carried themselves. He'd even caught the gaze of piercing red eyes once, but only momentarily.

Now, Naruto was being hunted.

There were only three of them, so he knew it couldn't be a large group effort. Just a small few breaking the act of secrecy this time. There would be no mob to flood him. Good.

But each of the three was a masked ninja, all bearing Sharingan eyes. Bad.

He didn't know how he'd gotten here. They'd chased him all the way into the richer side of town, near the Uchiha district. They knew this place much better than Naruto did, and now their advantage was showing.

He ran, faster and farther then he'd ever run before. He knew he was much faster than most his age, but these were shinobi. They were simply playing with him.

Naruto turned down yet another alleyway, breath coming ragged and loud. His legs and lungs were burning under the strain of running for so long and his mind was becoming cloudy with exhaustion. Another sprint turned him to another back way, face to face with a brick wall. There was nowhere to hide or go. He was trapped in the dead end.

Naruto spun around, quickly placing his vulnerable back to the wall. Already the Uchiha shinobi were only a few feet from him already…and they were laughing. The normally stoic ninja were all chuckling maniacally. That more than anything else scared Naruto enough to piss his pants. He trembled in the wetness, trying to come to grips. Before, he wouldn't have cared about this situation.

But he'd made a promise to stay.

"Little demon, let's play," the one on the right laughed.

"Oh, look. He fouled himself," the male on the left spoke.

The dark ninja in the middle ignored them, stepping closer and drawing a kunai in one motion.

"No longer will you hide under than innocent guise, fox. It's time to pay for the many deaths of our clansmen."

Before Naruto could react or even think, the nin sped towards him faster than he could see.

Naruto collapsed into a world of pain.

¤

Gaara hadn't meant to do it. He'd just lost control.

Shukaku was shouting in his head again, telling him to kill, to give Mother her blood.

He'd accidentally killed someone. _Again_.

It was not a day later that he felt those kunai at his back. Here was yet another person, come to kill him. His reaction had been instantaneous. In a mere instant the masked man had been crushed, now bleeding and broken on the sandstone tiles of the roof.

It had hurt, Shukaku's screams in his head when he'd unmasked his would-be killer.

"Uncle Ya-shamaru," Gaara's voice cracked on his name. He didn't even have to ask why. Here was one more person who hated him.

"-I always resented you…for taking my sister away," the man finished, he voice rasping as he died. Gaara stood, stunned.

'You see? No one will ever love you. You are the bakemono! Serve your purpose as a monster, kill them! KILL THEM ALL!' the tanuki's voice reached a high screech.

For a moment, blond hair and sky-bright eyes flashed through his mind.

'_Stay strong, and don't forget me.'_

Gaara shook his head wildly, clutching a tiny vial the hung around his neck.

"No! There is Naruto! He will always be my friend!" he sank to his knees, not looking at the bloody mess before him. "He…he will love me. Loves me…" The sand around him stirred again, whipping itself into a storm. Rapidly it centered on his forehead, right over the area he could still feel the tingle of Naruto's lips.

It hurt, dreadful pain that Gaara had never felt before, still he persevered. Before long the sand fell away, revealing a dripping wound in the shape of Ai. Love.

"I will remember!"

¤

"-Fugaku? Do you think we should tell him?

"He's never expressed his views on the demon brat. We can't be sure if he'd approve or not."

"This is pointless. Fugaku-sama is the head of the police force. Even if he did approve, he wouldn't want the brat near his home. It would reflect badly on the family honor if we were discovered with him."

"Then we'll have to make sure we're not discovered."

"Ginta-san, the monster's waking up."

Naruto was in so much pain, he didn't want to open his eyes. All conversation stopped when his eyelids slid open of their own accord. One dark-eyed man leaned over him, smirking.

"Hello little demon. Welcome back to hell." Startled, Naruto tried to jerk away. He regretted it immediately when an unbearable pain shot up from his hands all the way to his chest. The boy screamed from it, only to discover that he'd been gagged with a disgusting rag. All that came through was a thin keening. The Uchiha chuckled.

"I wouldn't do that, demon. You see…" he reached out to grab Naruto's chin, twisting it violently to the side. Naruto's eyes widened in horror at what he saw. "We've nailed your hands to the table."

Indeed, a shiny metal spike sprouted from the wood he lay on right through the center of his palm. The nail had to be half an inch around, at the very least. When he turned to look, the other one was exactly the same. Naruto felt hot tears spring to his eyes unbidden. How was he going to get out of this? The hurt clouded his mind enough that he found it hard to concentrate on a different man's words.

"We've found out something interesting about you. Did you know that your muscles and bones can heal in a matter of second if injured enough? Why, your hands would be completely fine if not for the nails. In fact, we've found that the sinew healed around them," the man in the corner ginned darkly before gazing at the first man to speak, "Ginta-san, may I begin?"

Ginta smirked again. "Go ahead, Akira-san."

The man now dubbed Akira approached Naruto, bringing a scalpel out of his sleeve. Naruto watched him, tightening his throat. He would not give in to their whims. He would not scream.

The first tiny slice across his throat, he didn't. When the knife crossed his jugular, his muscles bunched in agony but he remained silent. When it was pulled down his cheek to his chin, he whimpered as he bled. The fourth cut, he screamed, along with the fifth and sixth and seven and…

He screamed when Ginta and the remaining man broke his fingers and toes. He screeched when they did the same to his legs. As Akira cut deeper, blood poured over him, and eventually Naruto could feel it pouring inside too. The sadistic man paused long enough for the poor child to swallow, choking t down with what air he could pull in around the gag. He waited long enough for Naruto's skin to seal over with red chakra a bit, so that the life-blood stopped gushing; so that they could continue with their game.

Whenever Naruto started to sink back into blessed oblivion Akira would send a sharp jolt of chakra back to the boy's brain, effectively pulling him back to Hell.

This continued for what seemed like days to Naruto, anguish without end in sight. They broke every tiny piece of him they could find at least once, slicing it to ribbons with the scalpel. Akira especially loved his neck, watching the blood cascade and knowing he held the demon's life in his hands. Oh, sweet power.

Finally he couldn't bear it anymore, cracked but not yet shattered, Naruto's mind sank into dark water.

His final thought was that perhaps they'd found a way to slice his mind to ribbons too.

¤

Naruto awoke and sat up quickly, his eyes darting to take in his surroundings. At first it appeared that he was in a sewer, but a glance in another direction at towering iron bars and a piece of rice paper quickly disproved that. Dark water washed all around him, seeming to shine as id coated in oil. When he looked closer it took on the color of blood.

'**You!**'

Behind those iron bars loomed the burning red eyes of a giant demon fox. Kyuubi, his nine tails whipping about in fury beyond measure.

Wide-eyed, Naruto couldn't bring himself to say a word, instead scrambling to his feet and meeting the eyes full of rage head on. It seemed that the nine-tailed demon had quite a lot he wanted to say, jaws gnashing with sharp yellow teeth.

'**You let them take you, cut you, until all my chakra is spent just keeping your wretched body alive… The seal weakens and still I cannot break free! Again! Again and again you cause this pain, forcing me to heal you. Human scum, murderers of children!**' His form crashed against the bars with enough force to make the ground shudder under Naruto's feet.

'**I was sealed into a pathetic insect who doesn't even have the decency to keep on living! How many times have I been forced to save you, slime under my paw?**' he roared, causing showers of slimy water to fall upon them both. '**Your blood now carries enough of my chakra that you should not even be considered human, and still I am trapped! How many times must I feel your weak human bones break, your sinews tear, your life bleed from us both before I can feel the sun again?!**'

Naruto said nothing, simply staring. He might have considered being terrified of the ranting demon if he could still feel. As it were, he thought that maybe somewhere along the line something had pulled until it snapped. He felt blank as a new piece of paper. Kyuubi's claws lunged through the bars at him, stopping a mere hairline from his face. Naruto couldn't bring himself to feel amazed for not even twitching.

'**Answer me, human.**' The kitsune's hot and foul breath lingered over him, great crimson eyes as tall as he piercing, staring…dripping?

'**How long until I can smell the forest, bask in sunlight, be with my kin?**' The great demon's voice had dropped to a low, keening whine. Naruto's eyes widened as Kyuubi's form blurred and undulated, shrinking rapidly to take the shape of a tall man, tear stained cheeks all the more prominent. His face twisted into an nasty grimace as Naruto stared, his hands shooting out through the bars to grab the small child's front and jerk him up to eye level, legs dangling in the air.

'**I hate you, I **_**hate**_** you! Container, Jinchuuriki, utsuwa, **_**my jailor**_**, I hate you… See how low you and your father have brought me, groveling for a mere glimpse of the outside world when we both barely live!**' the fox-turned-human's eyes narrowed, seeming to realize he was babbling. '**I will give you my chakra, pitiable bug, if you free us from this hellish existence. You must become stronger, faster, powerful, less **_**human**_' His pointed teeth clicked on the last. It would bring him great pleasure to see this human child suffer, but he had no time. They were going to _die_.

Naruto didn't have time to think. The demon was nearly choking him, but it wasn't asphyxiation he was worried about. He could feel himself fading away. The demon noticed too.

'**We will die if you awake as you are now! Tell me, do you agree?!**' Kyuubi shook him, snapping his neck back and forth. Finally he steadied enough for Naruto to nod, short and panicked. The demon bared his teeth at him. '**Then the deal is sealed. Take it and leave, human filth!**'

His red eyes glowed eerily and Naruto felt chakra burn where the Kyuubi's fist held tight. Suddenly he dropped him, flinging the child into the oily water where he sank beneath the surface.

Kyuubi watched until the human disappeared completely, before turning his back and receding into fox form. He still cried.

'**Please, don't ever return…**'

¤

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A/N: Another chappy out! Please check out my DeviantArt on my homepage. I drew a neat Kyuubi-fied!Naruto that I'm quite proud of. Thanks for reading! 


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